Cagney - a seven-year-old female Lhasa Apso - was stuck for an hour at the house in Swinton, Salford, with only her legs visible before firefighters and animal rescuers were able to cut her free.

Abseiling to ewe

When a sheep was spotted stranded part-way down the side of a sea cliff in Abersoch, Wales, nobody was quite sure how to reach her.

But inspectors Andy Broadbent and Mike Pugh came to the rescue - abseiling up to 30 metres down the cliff face to reach the trapped ewe.

Hungry and frightened, it iis thought she had been there for around two weeks before she was caught and hoisted back to safety, to be returned to her farmer.

Puppy litter

They were so young, some of them still had their umbilical cords attached - but someone decided to dump these seven adorable mastiff-cross puppies in a litter bin.

The mastiff-cross puppies were found dumped in a rubbish bin Credit: RSPCA

Fortunately, their tiny cries were heard by children in Queensferry, Deeside, and inspectors were able to get to them in time.

Brenda, Roxy (now renamed Lady), Willow, Jonny (now known as Kai), Tinker (nicknamed Lula Tink), Spud, and Snippet (now called Buddy) were hand-reared and none of them suffered any long-term harm from their ordeal.

All seven have all now been found permanent homes with loving families, and are said to be doing well.

Ferret in a fence

Believed to be a stray, this ferret managed to get himself trapped in a fence - not once, but twice.

Whoops the ferret, who got stuck in a metal fence twice Credit: RSPCA

Later named Whoops by amused welfare workers, the ferret was found in Ossett, West Yorkshire, in November. The RSPCA and firefighters attended but soon realised they would not be able to cut him free at the scene without hurting him.

Fortunately, a vet was able to help and Whoops was taken in to be rehomed.

Long-distance feline

When Ian Southworth was checking news website while on holiday in Dubai, the last thing he expected to see was a familiar face.

But as he browsed the latest headlines, his beloved kitty Bubbles suddenly stared back at him.

Bubbles the cat was found under the bonnet of a car Credit: RSPCA

It turned out Bubbles had decided to go on an adventure from his home in Cheshire, curling up on a stranger's engine.

Luckily, he survived the 30-minute ride from Manchester Airport to Stockport - meaning a surprise for the driver when she arrived home.

As Bubbles was not microchipped, he may never have seen his owner again had he not been checking the news from abroad.